DETROIT -- Alfredo Simon wasn't at his best but he made it through eight. But with the Detroit Tigers offense dearly departed from this world, there wasn't much to speak of by way of run support. In the end the Tigers' three-game winning streak came to an end and they dropped a 6-2 game to the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins got to Simon early, knocking a leadoff double and a single to score a run on a fielding error by shortstop Dixon Machado. But he escaped on a 6-4-3 double play and a 4-3 groundout. Another run scored on a triple-sac fly combo in the third, then Simon put away 11 of the 13 batters he faced at one point in the game. He gave up just two singles in that time frame and neither went anywhere.
Then the seventh came around and Simon allowed a walk and three straight hits to surrender the lead. But after the two runs in the seventh, Simon struck out two in the eighth and finished with four runs allowed -- three earned -- and only one walk. But the Tigers offense wasn't offering much help after they put up a solid showing in the fourth.
Miguel Cabrera had two singles in the game and both J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos got drilled doubles, but other than McCann's RBI single that followed in the fourth, the Tigers batters had just one hit and a walk through the next 12 batters. The team also grounded into two double plays, both times immediately after getting a runner on-base.
ROARS:
Alfredo Simon: Put aside the snail-like pace, at one point he'd retired 11-of-13 batters faced. And he made it through eight innings with four runs allowed -- one which was only because of an error. Simon was hit hard in the first inning but he Houdini'd his way out with one run allowed. While he gave up a run in the third and gave up two in the seventh, in fairness the defense didn't offer much help on that first run. It was a decent start.
5-6-7 batters in the fourth: Combined, J.D. Martinez, Nick Castellanos, and James McCann were 4-for-8 with a walk and two RBI through six innings. In the fourth, Castellanos and Martinez knocked back-to-back doubles in the fourth, getting the Tigers on the board and McCann knocking in the tying run at the time.
HISSES:
Simon's pace of play: Killer. No, really, could have gone through two generations with his Brad Penny-like approach. Good *night* it's slow.
Tigers offense: Other than the fourth they were quiet for the evening. The 8-2 batters in the order were a combined 1-for-13 with a walk and a sac bunt. They struck out four times and then stranded two in the eighth after getting two on-board with one out.
Kyle Lobstein: Gave up a two-run bomb, making a game within reach into an unattainable score to beat with the quiet offense.
STREAKS AND STATS:
- The Tigers have grounded into 146 double plays for the season, most in the majors by eight double plays.
- The loss officially eliminated the Tigers from postseason contention.
WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:
Source: FanGraphs